CEO confirms Credit Suisse seeking Saudi banking license

ZURICH, July 31 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam personally travelled to Saudi Arabia to apply for a banking license, he said on Tuesday, confirming Reuters information the Swiss bank is seeking a full banking license in the Middle East’s biggest economy.

“I have been to Riyadh, I met the head of SAMA (the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority), I made the application myself,” Thiam said in response to a query during the bank’s second-quarter news conference. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Michael Shields)